International funds offer 10% returns. Did you make money?

International funds are topping the return chart in this year till date. The category has offered around 10.07% returns, as per the ACE MF database. Out of 68 international schemes that are in the market, 30 schemes offered double-digit returns in this year till date. Mirae Asset NYSE FANG+ ETF topped the return chart and offered 52.26%, followed by Mirae Asset NYSE FANG+ETF FoF, which offered 42.37% returns. The top performers in the category offered more than 20% returns. Are you investing in winning schemes?

This question is crucial because not every international scheme has offered great returns in this year. For example, 24 schemes offered single-digit returns and 14 schemes gave negative returns. For example, Aditya Birla SL CEF-Global Agri Fund, one of the worst performers, lost 9.89% in this year till date.

International funds cater to different broad international markets, commodities, foreign indices, among others. The global markets that performed well are NYSE, NASDAQ, US, and Taiwan. The other global markets such as Hang Seng, Greater China underperformed in the same period. To sum it up, the performance of the scheme will depend on under which geography your money is invested.

For example, if you invested in schemes that have made investments in NYSE, the schemes would have offered 40-50% returns. If you invested in schemes that have invested in Hang Seng or Greater China, you would have lost money. For example, Mirae Asset Hang Seng TECH ETF FoF lost around 6.64% on a year-to-date basis. Edelweiss Greater China Equity Off-Shore Fund lost 1.96% in the same period.

That means you should pay extra attention to your investments in international funds. Pay extra attention to which geography or indices you are investing.